PORT MORRIS — Two Bronx alcohol companies have joined forces to bring a new eatery to the borough.
The Port Morris Distillery and the Gun Hill Brewing Co. are teaming up to open Gun Hill Tavern right next door to the distillery at 780 E. 133rd St. in the South Bronx.
The restaurant will serve upscale pub food including burgers, salads, fish and tacos and have 14 beers from Gun Hill on tap.
The tavern will also serve four rotating beers and two rotating ciders, all of which will be from New York State.
The restaurant is slated for a Nov. 4 grand opening, and Gun Hill Managing Partner Dave Lopez described it as a good opportunity for the company to expand in an enterprising part of the city.
"We think that the South Bronx is definitely going to be up and coming, especially with all the residential developments they have on track down there," he said.
The brewery is based out of Williamsbridge in the northern part of the borough, so Lopez said getting a foothold farther south in Port Morris would also be an effective way to expand his brand's reach.
"Because of how far we are from the city and how difficult it is even from the South Bronx to get to where we are, it’s a good opportunity for us to showcase our brand down in that area," he said.
The Port Morris Distillery is located very close to the Tirado Distillery and to the Bronx Brewery, but Tirado Distillery founder Dr. Renee Hernandez said he did not see the incoming tavern as competition.
He maintained that it would complement the other businesses in the area and that customers would visit the tavern in addition to, rather than instead of, the Tirado Distillery and Bronx Brewery.
"The more traffic, the better," Hernandez said.
The hope is to create a cool group of venues for people to visit in one neighborhood, said Port Morris Distillery co-owner Rafael Barbosa.
"Most people would probably consider it competition," he said. "I consider it bringing more people to the area. We're creating like a little craft beer/distillery destination in the South Bronx."
Though the tavern will be located in a fairly remote part of the borough, Port Morris Distillery co-owner William Valentin said he's not worried about getting people there.
"They say if you build it, people will come," he said. "So we're building it."
